


Fiction

by neverwinter (KingPreussen)



Series: it takes a village [19]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Arguing, F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 07:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13853247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingPreussen/pseuds/neverwinter
Summary: Julia took her chance to scoop Angus up, squeezing and tickling him until he laughed so hard his glasses almost fell off.When Angus could breathe again, he looked around for Taako and found him leaning against the wall in the doorway of the kitchen. "Don't rough up my boy too much," he drawled. "I need to claim him on my taxes."---Mistakes were made years ago. Mistakes will not be made now. Or, stay the hell out of Taako's business.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title from [truth from fiction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hHl40fTsE8), a very chill and kind of sad song
> 
> im super busy, thats why theres been a long absence, but i have a few ideas in the back of my head for this series
> 
> pre-warning: no one in here is the "bad guy" except sazed. all families have arguments and while sometimes there is an undercurrent of abuse and hatred, here there explicitly is not
> 
> takes place in april of 2018
> 
> also, thank you so much for 100 bookmarks on the series! i love to know that people are enjoying my stories enough to come back to them

Saturday began like normal. Taako woke him by gently stroking his hair until he opened his eyes, and then murmured, "It's almost nine thirty, pumpkin. Ready to get up?" Angus nodded at him and rolled over and Taako indulgently let him sleep fifteen more minutes until he was ready to slide out of bed and into real clothes.

But as he pulled on his "Goldcliff University" hoodie, an exciting thought struck him. _This_ Saturday was _family dinner_ Saturday.

The best thing about Taako's monthly family dinners wasn't the food. Their normal meals were to the exact same standard, a.k.a. Angus ate like a king every day of his life. No, it was how content Taako seemed while he cooked. Although preparing several nuclear families worth of food took a lot of time and effort, Taako never even broke a sweat, often teaching Angus tips and tricks while he worked.

Today, Angus stood just outside the kitchen, now fully dressed and nervously watching Taako direct one spectral hand to chop vegetables while he looked over his handwritten cookbook. He was dressed casually, in leggings and what Angus was pretty sure was Kravitz' sweatshirt, and his hair was neatly braided up and away from his face. But he had this air of… _discomfort_ that Angus wasn't used to.

The kitchen was also immaculate, despite Taako conducting several meals at the same time. Angus almost felt he _couldn't_ enter the room, or risk upsetting the careful balance Taako held around him.

"Angus!" Taako suddenly said, loud enough that Angus jumped and almost fell. When Taako turned around and noticed Angus was not ten feet from him, his eyes widened and he rushed over to take Angus' hands. "Istus fucking bless, kid, I didn't know you were right there!" he sort-of apologized, leaning down to kiss Angus on the forehead. "I was trying to call you from your room."

"I'm okay, Taako," Angus said honestly. He squeezed Taako's fingers and looked over his shoulder, watching the two Mage Hands he had summoned stop their work and wave at him. "Are you okay? You seem kinda…."

Taako was already biting his lip, one of his most obvious tells. Thankfully, he didn't try to lie to Angus, instead lifting him up (still with little effort, despite how fast Angus thought he was growing) and sitting him on the center island. "I don't wanna put anything heavy on you, baby boy, but, y'know. Not everyone in our fucked up family really… likes Krav." Taako leaned against the counter next to Angus, plucking at his own sweatshirt nervously. "He hasn't been to any family dinners before and I think… I _know_ one of those morons is gonna start shit, and I'm gonna have to take sides."

Angus sighed, leaning his head on Taako's shoulder. He wanted to tell Taako he wouldn't have to choose sides, and that no one would bring up their dislike for Kravitz at the table, but he knew both of those things would happen. "Why don't they like Kravitz?" Angus asked instead.

Taako's mouth twisted in a frown. "I think… I think it's less him and more… me." He waved his hand and the burners on the stove turned to low while each lid levitated onto its respective pot.

"Nothing is wrong with you," Angus said emphatically, aiming his own frown at Taako and tilting his head to look Taako in the eye.

Taako snorted laughter. "Thank you, pumpkin, that's good to know. Not really what I meant, but." Angus glanced away, embarrassed, but Taako just ruffled his hair to signal he was teasing. "I'm not gonna fuckin'… patronize you and say you're too young to understand but at the same time, there's things I don't want you to know about ol' Taako while you're a baby. Suffice to say that ex I like to never mention? He really sucked shit."

Angus didn't like not knowing things. He also didn't think pushing Taako would do anything good for either of them, but he thought for a long moment, and then asked, "Did he hit you?"

"Oh, pumpkin," Taako said, sounding profoundly disappointed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ask--"

"No, no, you're… you're allowed to ask. I'm not going to say you _can't_." Taako moved away, avoiding Angus' eyes and instead returning to his cooking. "Fuck, kid. Way too smart for your own good, huh?"

Angus kicked his legs against the cabinets beneath the counter. Now that he'd started asking and hadn't gotten turned away, the opportunity to get more information urged him to _keep_ asking. "Do they think Kravitz hits you? Or me?"

Taako snorted again, twirling his finger at a wooden spoon and making it stir the shallow pot on the back burner of the stove. "Yeah, he'd be in the Astral Plane with his mom permanently if he even raised a hand to you, kiddo."

"And you?"

"And me what?"

Uncomfortable now, Angus slid off the counter. "What are you making?" he asked instead.

Taako brushed a stray curl away from his face and glanced down at him. "You didn't hurt my feelings, for the record. And this one is tomato sauce." Taako's cell phone rang, interrupting them, and Angus rushed into the living room to get it for him.

Kravitz was calling, because Angus' life was a lesson in irony. He picked up the phone off the couch and brought it to Taako, who was washing vegetables at the sink. "Kravitz," Angus said, placing the phone in one of Taako's Mage Hands. 

To his surprise, after studying him briefly, Taako dried his hands and answered his phone on speaker. "What's up, babe? Ango's here, so keep it PG."

"Hi, Kravitz!" Angus added, grinning.

" _Hello, boys_ ," Kravitz said warmly. " _How are you doing?_ "

"Hoping you're not gonna be late, for one," Taako said, turning to his cutting board and precisely chopping a pile of brown mushrooms.

There was a short silence over the line. " _Late?_ " Kravitz asked. Before Taako could yell, which Angus could tell he was gearing up to do by the sharp slam of his knife on the board, Kravitz continued, " _Oh, yes, dinner. I won't be late, darling, don't worry._ "

"You play entirely too fucking much," Taako said through gritted teeth while Angus giggled behind his hands.

" _I understand your stress, dearest, but I promise nothing bad--_ "

"Don't jinx it!" Angus and Taako interrupted him at the same time.

* * *

Angus waited in the living room with a blanket around his shoulders, having already set the table and braided a pretty gold chain into Taako's hair. Taako refused to let him help carry food out on top of that. "I'm not stupid, pumpkin," Taako said with a sly grin, pulling the last cloth napkin out of Angus' hands and gently tugging at one of his curls. "You didn't upset me this morning, honest. I'm made of stronger shit."

"I know," Angus denied vehemently; both he and Taako knew he was lying but neither one of them owned up to it.

Since then, he sat curled up against the back of the couch, nose in a book. Lup was sat across from him, also curled up with her own blanket, bored and flipping through channels. She hugged and kissed Angus like normal when she arrived almost ten minutes before, but her glances toward Taako were sharp. Angus had enough of asking prying questions for the rest of the day, so he just quietly watched her out of the corner of his eye.

All of their family had the code to Taako and Angus' apartment building but even Taako wasn't so lazy as to not lock his door between guests. Magnus had a familiar knock, a heavy shave-and-a-haircut that belied his ability to break down the door if he wanted.

Lup's glanced dismissively toward the door and away again, but Angus rushed to untangle himself and run to unlock it, grinning widely, ready for his crushing hug. Magnus didn't disappoint, lifting Angus off his feet as soon as he opened the door.

"How's my little detective?" Magnus asked, only setting Angus down so he could grab him by the shoulders and shake him emphatically.

"Okay, Uncle Magnus!" he chirruped back. Julia took her chance to scoop Angus up, squeezing and tickling him until he laughed so hard his glasses almost fell off.

When Angus could breathe again, he looked around for Taako and found him leaning against the wall in the doorway of the kitchen. "Don't rough up my boy too much," he drawled. "I need to claim him on my taxes."

Julia just laughed, but Magnus crossed his arms over his chest, staring Taako down like they were in a fight. "We wouldn't hurt him," he said, unnecessarily aggressive. Angus didn't have to guess who wasn't included in "we."

"Alright, boys," Julia said to quell their argument. She sat down next to Lup, and immediately Lup dropped her head into Julia's lap.

The front door opened again, revealing Lucretia and Merle, who both paused in the doorway. "Are we interrupting something?" Lucretia asked hesitantly into the still air of the room.

Lup sat up, patted Julia's hand, and instead wrapped her arm around Lucretia's waist to pull her inside. "Just keep your mouth shut when Death Becomes Her gets here," she muttered as she passed Angus.

Angus quietly made his way back over to the couch and grabbed his blanket. He mostly wanted to leave the room and hide under his bed, but it was more important to gently tug on Taako's sweater until he leaned forward, and then wrap the blanket around his shoulders. 

"It's okay, Taako," Angus tried to reassure him, adjusting the blanket to his liking. "You can kick them out if you want."

Taako grinned and tweaked Angus' nose in thanks.

Davenport, Killian, and Carey joined the quote-unquote party carrying a truly unnecessary amount of wine bottles. "Who died?" Killian asked into the silence.

"No one. Sit down, you weird fucks, stop standing around my entryway," Taako said, clutching the blanket around him with one hand and physically shooing people with the other. "We're just waiting for--"

Kravitz chose that moment to knock on the doorframe. "Hello, darling," he said, giving a hesitant half-smile at Taako from the hallway. "Er, and hello, everyone."

Angus waited a beat, watching everyone else _watch_ Kravitz, and then said, "Hi Kravitz." Everyone turned toward him instead.

Kravitz smiled gratefully at Angus. "I hope I'm not late. I wanted to pick up…." He pulled a bouquet of roses out from behind his back. Taako gasped audibly and rushed over, gathering the two dozen flowers into his arms and grinning up at his boyfriend.

"You aren't, Krav, you gorgeous man!" He gave Lup a significant look and she rolled her eyes. "Come on, close the door, let's eat before Ango's bedtime."

Angus suddenly regretted not setting out seating placements on index cards when he set the table. Magnus was giving Kravitz a glare that could burn rubber, and Kravitz was looking steadily back, despite Taako's gushing about his flowers not three inches away. Davenport and Merle just looked enthusiastic about the opportunity to get drunk.

"I-I want to sit next to Kravitz," Angus said quickly, almost without his brain's permission.

Taako didn't bat an eyelid. "Between him and me, of course pumpkin." Angus carefully didn't sigh in relief. After Kravitz closed the front door behind himself, the rest all filtered into Taako's dining room. Usually it wasn't large enough to accommodate that many people but Taako was nothing if not skilled in Transmutation. A little planar manipulation made the room comfortable for eleven people--a stuffy room wouldn't be the first thing to set them off on each other.

Lup had the first bottle of red wine open before everyone finished sitting down, pouring herself a generous glass. She sat next to Taako, Lucretia on the end of the table, and Angus, then Kravitz beside them.

Magnus sat across from Lucretia, and then Julia, Killian, Carey, and Merle down the other side. Davenport got to sit at the head of the table. Angus found they all showed him a certain deference, even if he was relatively soft spoken and not very commanding in everyday life. Apparently they had all gone through _something_ together before Angus came into the picture.

Having several magic users at the table meant passing food around was made easy with Mage Hand. Taako served Angus because it was second nature at this point but Angus certainly got a chance to practice his own Mage Hand with relatively heavy objects.

"Amazing as usual," Davenport was the first to compliment the food, prompting a round of praise for Taako around the table.

Taako took it with his usual grace, i.e. he soaked it up like a glittery sponge. "Save your praise for next month," he finally said, grinning down at Angus, who adjusted his glasses nervously. "The boy is going to try his hand at some of my... _signature_ dishes."

That was actually exciting to hear. Angus smiled at the table, trying to hide it. He was unsuccessful, if Kravitz' affectionate pat on the shoulder was any indication.

Maybe that wasn't Kravitz' best decision. When Angus looked up again, Killian cleared her throat, staring at Kravitz over the suddenly silent table. Taako cleared his throat right back. "You got somethin' to say? Say it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back defensively in his chair.

"Angus, go to your room," Magnus began, but Taako immediately held out a quelling hand in front of Angus' chest.

"You're not his fucking father, Magnus. I am." Angus rarely heard Taako sound so serious. The adults all fought with each other regularly, but it was mostly bickering and pointless arguments. Taako had a glint in his eye that usually meant someone was going to get cursed out.

Even Killian looked surprised, before she said, "I don't like Kravitz. Now, it's out in the open. Stop fucking around it like you're teenagers."

Magnus seemed emboldened by Killian's statement, even while it blindsided Angus. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to hear, but it wasn't that, and it _really_ wasn't from Killian. He assumed she… tolerated Kravitz? But, he had to admit to himself, he thought _all_ of them were learning to like him. Angus certainly never had anything bad to say in front of them.

"This is your house, so I wasn't gonna say, you know, 'tell him to fuck off'--"

"You sure as fuck weren't," Taako interjected loudly.

Magnus chose to continue over him, slightly louder. "So he can hear me say it to his face instead."

"Say what to his face? You know your problem is with me, Maggie." Taako very deliberately stared straight at Magnus, even when Angus hesitantly reached out and took his hand. "I got over Sazed and you didn't."

Lup reached over the table and took the open bottle of wine again, refilling her suddenly empty glass to the brim. Angus couldn't manage to catch her eye either. "Tell 'em, Taako," she said semi-supportively.

Merle shook his head with a concerned frown on his face. "Taako, sorry to say, but I think _you're_ the one who hasn't gotten over him."

"Your preacher shit won't work on me," Taako said with an annoyed flip of his braid over his shoulder.

"Like Sazed's money didn't work on you?" Killian said, mocking in only the way she could be. "Like Sazed didn't have a nice accent and nice hair and--"

Taako rolled his eyes at her. "Like y'all didn't fall for that too, though? Don't recuse yourself just because you didn't see the shit before I _showed_ it to you."

Lup downed the rest of her glass and shuddered. Before she could pour a third, Lucretia grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from the bottle. "Any of you assholes could have said this, oh, a year ago?" Lucretia's low, calm voice somehow made even _Angus_ feel guilty.

Kravitz shifted, and Angus looked at him instead. "May I speak in my own defense?" Kravitz asked much too politely for their company.

"You're not on trial," Julia said, resting her chin in her hands with her elbows on the table. She used to be lawyer and was famously calm in stressful situations; for now, she seemed content to just… observe the proceedings. Angus wished he had her objectivity. "Go ahead."

"I don’t know very much about Sazed," Kravitz said, confident but not near shouting like Magnus and Taako were. "I know what Taako chose to share with me, in confidence, and I wouldn't presume to stand up for Sazed or positively judge his character." Kravitz sat ramrod straight in his chair, looking at each of them in turn like he was actually on trial. "But I can say that I would _never_ treat Taako that way. Nothing near it."

Angus should have been keeping attention _away_ from himself, but for some reason said, "I believe him."

Merle, who had no love lost for Angus--he was having trouble with his own estranged children--laughed out loud. "No offense, kid, but you don't have the best track record with trustworthy adults."

"Alright, no," Carey cut in. "It's fucked up to have him here anyways, but leave him out of it."

"Why would it be f-f… f-ed up for me to be here?" Angus said defensively, even as he stuttered and stumbled over actually cursing.

Lup snorted. "Taako's baby boy hearing about the years where we all refused to fucking… look two feet in front of our eyes? When we left him to get--"

"Chill," Taako interrupted kind of frantically. "Listen. I don't really care whether you like Krav or not. He's my boyfriend, and it's my house. None of y'all came for Sazed when he was controlling, uh, pretty much everything in my fucking life until one unfortunate little black eye, right? Don't come for Kravitz now."

"Taako--" Magnus sighed, but Taako wasn't a train easily derailed.

"I have a kid, who I know you _love_ or whatever the fuck, but it makes you think you can come in and fuck up the good thing I have going. Fun fact, I'd die before I let _anyone_ hit Angus again. Fucking _try me_." Angus squeezed Taako's hand, unsure of how helpful he could really be, but Taako squeezed back and took a deep breath. "I'm the last person to ask for this, but I really fucking thought we could maybe be civil for a hot second. Never fucking mind."

Davenport shifted his chair back a bit. "We can leave," he said. Angus noted that although Davenport hadn't said anything one way or the other, he didn't sound sarcastic at all.

Taako sighed heavily. "I really hate you fucks. Leave it to you to piss me off and then try to leave without eating. Sit down, Magnus," he said with another sigh, and Angus glanced across the table, noticing Magnus already half out of his seat. "Keep your goddamn opinions to your goddamn selves."

"About Death Cab for Cutie, or in general?" Lup muttered into her wineglass. 

"Strike two, Lup," Taako shot back.

"No, wait," Angus said over the slowly resuming conversation. "I want to say something." It usually took him a little while to articulate all of his thoughts but he had to stand up for at least himself at this dinner, even if it didn't affect anyone's opinion.

He took off his glasses and started to clean them with his shirt so he didn't have to see anyone's expression clearly. "I think that Kravitz really loves Taako. My m-mother and father didn't love me. I know what it looks like when someone is faking that, or they think that it's real but it's not. So don't act like I'm some dumb kid who would let Taako get a-abused right in front of him." He ducked his head. "Kravitz is always very nice to me. I think that if you--if you haven't given him a chance, then that's _your_ fault."

Angus stopped talking so abruptly that for a minute, everyone just sat there, faces turned toward him expectantly. Then Julia said, "No one wants to discount your opinion, honey. You make an excellent point. Did we give Kravitz a chance or did we assume something terrible about him?"

"Hey, Julia, do me a favor?" Killian asked in a stage whisper. "Stop using your lawyer powers and just let us be mad?"

Julia smiled beatifically and returned to her lasagna.

Taako didn't offer any more on the matter, but he did let go of Angus' hand to pull him close and kiss his hair. Then he sent Kravitz a look over the top of Angus' head. When Angus turned to look at him, Kravitz was shaking his head, a wry grin on his face. "Well then," Taako said, and that was the end of it.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, the dinner lasts into the night

"We'll talk about it later," Taako murmured to Kravitz, gathering Angus from the couch and into his arms. The combination of a late night and family drama had him asleep by ten, but Taako didn't want to have him wake up alone in his room, so he bundled him up in the living room until the rest of their family said their goodbyes.

Now it was just Taako, Angus, and Kravitz left. Kravitz wasn't hovering, technically, but he was damn close and it was starting to piss Taako off again.

Thankfully, Kravitz took the hint and went to the kitchen to start with the washing up. He was the most sober of all of them at the end of it. Magnus even had enough beer that he didn't start another argument the whole time they sat at the dining table.

"Istus bless, Angus, what am I going to do about those fucking pricks?" Taako said to himself. Angus didn't make a sound, still deep asleep. Taako was able to carry him all the way into Taako's own bedroom and lie him on the bed without incident. Changing his clothes into pajamas made him grumble but Taako was used to doing it quickly and efficiently and Angus was none the wiser.

Satisfied Angus' teeth would keep for one night--and knowing Angus would probably stay awake for hours after, if he were made to brush his teeth--Taako tucked him into bed and set his carefully folded glasses on the nightstand.

When Taako returned to the kitchen, Kravitz was almost halfway through cleaning dishes, stacking them to dry in the dishwasher and organizing them far more than Taako tended to. "I'm sorry I haven't made the best impression on your family," he said without turning from the sink.

Taako wrapped his arms around Kravitz' waist and leaned flush against his back. "Their problem," he replied, muffled against Kravitz' shirt.

"I understand if you want to… follow their advice--"

"No way, my dude." Taako was expecting that statement enough that he could preempt it; Kravitz seemed shrewd and calculating at first glance, but around Taako, he was entirely too self-sacrificing. "They'd chase off any guy I decide to date from now into eternity if I let them." Taako nuzzled into Kravitz' spine and tried to press even closer. "We're good. But, for tonight, would you mind sleeping at your place? I've already put Angus in prime bed real estate."

Taako could feel Kravitz' chuckle rumble against him. "Of course, darling. He did own the land first."

Taako smiled to himself and closed his eyes. "That he did, Krav. And he's never late on his mortgage, either." He gave Kravitz a quick squeeze and laughed at Kravitz' undignified squawk of surprise. "I'll talk to them. I'm, like, disappointed that they don't see you the way I do, but it's not going to keep me from… you know, all that sappy shit."

Kravitz started to scrub another plate. "I love you too, Taako," he said without fanfare. Best of all, he let Taako stand up against him until he finished washing up.

**Author's Note:**

> kravitz gave taako 25 roses, not 24. even numbers of flowers are for funerals...


End file.
